Chapter 12
Vein phase. 2 is the 12th chapter of the manga and the second chapter of the Vein Arc. Jonah's backstory is revealed. Title page Jonah, Malka, Maurice. Summary Kasper Hekmatyar recalls that it is three months since he met Jonah, to the latter's fury. At the time Jonah was still a child soldier and had been assigned to a military base in a certain West Asian country near the border of a major nation. While taking food to some orphans, Jonah notices Yusuf Gasud, who is meeting with the deputy commander. Yusuf asks who Jonah is and is told that he came from the Mountain Division and the rest of the children are orphans whom the commander wanted to take in. Voicing his disapproval of this, the deputy asks to be counted in as part of Yusuf's plan, admitting that due to national policies they are forced to supply themselves with Western arms. However he is only in because Yusuf works for Kasper. Yusuf agrees and they leave to pick up his shipment. Jonah wonders who Yusuf really is as he does not appear to be a journalist and has stuck by the deputy commander since he was found in a nearby minefield. The orphans' enjoyment of their food is cut short when they are forced to hide it due to the deputy's approach. However he smells the food and orders Malka and Maurice to come with him. As Jonah notices that Yusuf's eyes are not those of a normal man, he tries to go along but is beaten for insubordination. The party arrives in the woods on the outskirts of a minefield. Malka tearfully asks if they know where they are and Yusuf coldly tells her to walk towards his merchandise by sliding her feet. To force her to move he draws a pistol and points it at Maurice's head. One the other side of the minefield the commander and his men discover a truck full of American ordnance. Instead of contacting the base the commander decides to wait for whomever the slain guards were contacting and has his men conceal their tank and hide themselves. As Malka makes her way through the minefield Yusuf recognises the area and prepares to call his men. One of the commander's men alerts him that there is a kid in the minefield and he quickly bursts from hiding, yelling at Malka and Maurice to stop. Although he is radioed that his men have a clear shot, he orders them not to fire as a falling body would trigger any nearby mines and endanger the children. The deputy commander orders his men to shoot his superior and the commander realises that he is being betrayed by his subordinate. Yusuf realises that his men were killed and although the commander tries to argue that the children be moved to safety first before they talk, an enraged Yusuf triggers a . He quickly grabs Malka and pulls her over him as a shield as the mine explodes, killing her and the commander. Back at the base that night the survivors announce that the commander was killed in a accident while a distraught Jonah is in shock at his death and Malka's. Vowing to take action, he tells Maurice to gather the other orphans and hide their secret base. While the deputy commander and Yusuf argue, Jonah arms himself with an AK-47 and tapes a bayonet to his left hand. He shoots one of the soldiers who notices him and begins to effectively take out the others at the base, causing confusion as they are unable to see him or identify who their attacker is. The deputy commander and Yusuf seek refuge in a warehouse where the former is unable to contact anybody else as they are all dead. After a sudden burst of gunfire Yusuf discovers that his head has been blown off before being confronted by Jonah. He admits that he is an arms dealer when questioned and tries to bribe Jonah. However this fails as Jonah replies that he only wants Malka back. When Yusuf asks what a Malka is he is shot. Anime and manga differences *Jonah does not grip his head in anger when Kasper recalls that they met three months ago. *The base is shown in more detail and the location of a certain West Asian country is more vague. *The commander does not appear in the episode, changing the storyline in several ways: **He is not mentioned by the deputy commander as having taken in the orphans. **The deputy commander assumes a more antagonistic role than Gasud. **Gasud's arms shipment is implied to be near the minefield but is not shown. **The deputy commander and Gasud are not injured while retrieving the arms shiment. **Malka's death is implied to have been caused by stepping on a mine, not being used as a shield by Gasud. *Gasud is not called by his men. *The scene of Jonah feeding the orphans is changed. *Jonah's beating is shown to have drawn blood. *The deputy commander and Gasud are having a drink and signing the agreement when Jonah launches his rebellion. *The money in Gasud's briefcase is shown to be American $100 bills. *Gasud's death is less explicit. Debut appearances *Commander *Deputy commander *Eline (not named) *Yusuf Gasud *Janot (not named) *Malka *Maurice Trivia *Eline and Janot are not named until Chapter 44. Category:Volume 3 12